- Our new report highlights how agent AI can transform our lives from digital personal assistants to shopping agents.
- AI may soon be used to monitor purchases, sales, procure financing agreements, and even negotiate prices with sellers.
- Advances in technology must not come at the expense of data privacy.
Our new report, released today, shows how the rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) could change the way we live, with the “AI gent” of personal shopping likely to emerge within the next five years.
Agenttic AI refers to artificial intelligence that enables the automation of more activities, such as making decisions, interacting with the environment, solving problems in real time, and imitating some types of reasoning and planning.
So-called agent commerce promises to become a mainstay in people's busy lives, with customers' personal AI-powered agents anticipating their shopping needs and making proactive purchases based on knowledge of their learned and defined preferences, behaviors, and future plans, rather than requiring specific prompts.
This means digital shoppers will soon be able to check their personal bank accounts to ensure purchases fit within their monthly budget, assess how they impact other spending plans, schedule purchases around seasonal sales events like January sales, and even negotiate prices directly with sellers.
This could extend to agents looking for customized financing options to present to human shoppers for agreement.
William Malcolm, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk and Innovation, said:
“Agent AI will have the ability to make decisions and take actions independently. Our own personal AI agents could pay for goods, book flights, or help with household finances.
“While the potential benefits could be transformative, the public needs assurance that their personal information is secure and well-managed before trusting agent systems.
“A strong data protection foundation will help build public trust and help scale up the rapid and secure adoption of AI. Throughout 2026, the ICO will actively monitor progress and work with AI developers and adopters to ensure they understand what the law requires.”
You can download our Technology Futures Report here.
